Shazino launches Neurons ResearchKit app to help multiple sclerosis patients

Thursday, 21 January 2016 in Science by Julien Thérier

Press Release

Lyon, France — January 21, 2016

Shazino today announced Neurons, a new app powered by Apple’s ResearchKit. The app is a personalized tool to help patients measure, monitor, and better manage the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Neurons

Over 2.5 million people are living with multiple sclerosis globally. This is the most common autoimmune disorder affecting the central nervous system. This chronic disease disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.

“By open-sourcing ResearchKit, Apple allowed developers to collaborate with doctors and create new innovative apps to conduct clinical studies. We wanted to be part of this very important evolution and contribute to the ResearchKit code repository.”
Julien Therier, CEO of Shazino

Users of the Neurons app will be prompted to complete 3 daily tasks that should only take a few minutes: Timed 25-Foot walk, 9-Hole Peg Test (9-HPT), and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). The 3 tasks measure the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC), a standardized, quantitative, assessment instrument for use in clinical studies, particularly clinical trials.

“The cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown, and there is no known cure for this disease. We hope that the Neurons app may one day be used to screen patients in their homes for multiple sclerosis, or help them to better manage their disease between two doctor’s appointments.”
Julien Therier, CEO of Shazino

Neurons is just at its early stage. Shazino is now looking for a partner (i.e. research laboratory or pharmaceutical company) interested in using app features for its own clinical study in multiple sclerosis.

Neurons is available to download for free from the App Store.

Source code for the standardize activities has been shared on the ResearchKit repository.

About Shazino

Shazino is a French start-up which provides innovative platforms and apps for scientists.

The company was founded by life science researchers and developers dedicated to improving workflows in research labs. In addition to the Neurons app, the young company has released a set of iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Web apps (Hivebench and PaperShip) that facilitate lab bench work, as well as laboratory management. Shazino is also involved in the Open Source movement with the release of open source software development kits MendeleySDK, SZNZotero, and SZNAltmetric.

Shazino is an independent start-up not affiliated with Apple.

For more information, contact:
Dr Julien Thérier, Shazino CEO/Founder,
julien.therier@shazino.com, +33 672 649 239